A Millisecond Too Late
by neonquincy1217
Summary: "I'll have you pay for this, Hakuba Saguru," were the words Kuroba Kaito overheard the witch say one Friday afternoon, but no one, not even the most annoying detective in his book, deserves that kind of treatment!


Hey there!~  
LOL, anyway, here's my entry for Super Short Contest #6: Bet (edited right after the actual contest, teehee), entitled _A Millisecond Too Late,_. The title might sound a little on the angsty side but it's actually kind of fun...

Now this idea has been on my head waaay before I even joined Poirot Cafe. It's initially a HakuAka, but yeah... HakuSera's taking over my life lately so I tweaked it a little and had this mess of a fic over here.

Enjoy it, tho, my first shot at a HakuSera!~  
Oh wait, tiny notesy-notes: established friendship between DCMK characters who never met canonically. Also, nothing's mine

* * *

 **A Millisecond Too Late**

"I'll have you pay for this, Hakuba Saguru," were the words Kuroba Kaito overheard the witch say one Friday afternoon, but no one, not even the most annoying detective in his book, deserves that kind of treatment!

* * *

Something strange is going on.

On Kaito's way to the mart that Friday afternoon, he spotted Hakuba frantically leaving the classroom before anyone. On his way back home, he spotted him again snatching a yellow duck plush from a two-year-old and ripping it apart, save a small piece of paper that came out with the stuffings.

This made Kaito wonder. Just what could prompt the deemed gentleman to act like a madman? Curiouser and curiouser he became, and he followed suit of the detective, all the while with groceries under one arm…

And he suspects it's got something to do with the words he overheard Akako say.

 _"_ _I'll have you pay for this, Hakuba Saguru."_

While it was none of his concern at the first place, Kaito felt like whatever it is, the London detective never deserved it. And so it was that he followed Hakuba all the way to the little bar Old Man Jii happens to own.

"I'm here!" Hakuba wheezed, swinging the door open and stomping in. Picking the watch from his pocket, he declared, "At exactly 6:00:00."

"And 0.01 seconds," Akako added, raising a stopwatch to the other's eye level. "You're late."

Hakuba looked at the witch from where she sat on the counter, almond eyes wide in disbelief. "You have got to be kidding me!"

"Nope. You're late," she concluded, and Hakuba sighed in defeat and reached for his pocket. After all, he's a man of his words, and being the "time geek," as some of his classmates deemed him to be, even a millisecond off the clock meant he didn't make it in time.

It was then that Kaito barged in, looking like a protagonist in one of those Wild West-themed movies he's seen his dad watch before.

"Hold it right there!" he shouted… and if it wasn't for the paper bag under his arm he'd look like a legit action movie star.

"Oh, Kaito-kun! What a pleasant surprise!" Akako commented, not at the least surprised. Hakuba, on the other hand, wanted to curse his bitter fate.

"Kuroba, what the hell—?" the half-Brit hissed. The least likely thing he wants right now is for Kaito to be present. While he was completely aware he was being tailed by said guy, he trusted enough for him to not interfere at all.

Kaito took a side glance at Hakuba, said, "Don't worry. I got this," before he turned to Akako.

"You can't go around treating people like that, you slave driver!"

The magician watched as said girl raised a brow at him. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb! I overheard you telling him you'll have him pay!"

"Kaito-kun, I see what your intentions are but—"

"But no!" the frantic one interrupted. "You're making a fool out of the guy who once saved your ass!"

"Kuroba, can you _please_ stop for a while and listen?"

Turning to Hakuba, Kaito reprimanded, "No, _you_ listen! I can't believe you're letting yourself be pulled around like this!"

His fingers went to the bridge of his nose before Hakuba commented, "Look, so you heard our conversation, big deal. But at least let us explain."

"Hakuba-kun and I had an arrangement," Akako explained, before any more violent reaction stems from the magician. "Since he just _happens_ to be at the wrong place at the wrong time—"

"I was! How many times do I have to tell you it broke on its own?"

The long-haired girl rolled her eyes. "Right, and you didn't squeal like a girl over one little mouse—"

"I did no such th—"

"Hold on! We're getting sidetracked here," the brunette interrupted before his classmates' heated argument gets worse.

Hakuba and Akako exchanged glances before the latter crossed her arms together and sighed, "Bottomline, he broke my crystal ball, and we made a deal that if he can't solve my riddles and be at the right place within a time period, he'll pay for the damages."

Remembering where they left off, Hakuba reached for his wallet, brought out _every_ last bill he's got and placed them in front of Akako, who then snagged them with an evil snicker.

To this, Kaito blinked in disbelief. The bar was enveloped in awkward silence for about twenty or so seconds before Kaito commented, "That's it? _You_ made a _toddler_ cry, wrecked a Ducky Momo doll and practically ran a marathon…" he stretched both arms in front of him, "for _this_?"

"It's a Piyo-chan, Kuroba," the sleuth corrected in monotone. Only, Kaito was nowhere near listening.

"No!" he grunted, a finger pointed to Hakuba. "This is not the kind of person you are. Normally you'd just pay up without incident. What's happening here?"

Smug-faced Koizumi inched closer—too close for comfort—to the blonde in question. Hakuba scooted as far as he can as a blush bloomed on his features.

"Oh it's more than just that, Kaito-kun. Right, _Saguru-chan_?"

At a loss for proper reaction, Hakuba heaved a sigh, running a hand over his face.

"Koizumi-san here think it's rather wonderful I'd confess my feelings if ever I lose," the blonde slurred bitterly as he gave justice to his desperation, cheeks turning another shade redder.

"Confess? To who?"

As if by cue, the bar door opened, and in came the olive-eyed female detective of Beika.

"Heyhey~" she shouted to no one in particular. The barmaid gleamed at the newcomer and welcomed her in as Sera walked over.

From the sidelines, Hakuba cast a deadpan look at Akako.

"You called her here?!" he whispered through gritted teeth.

"So you won't think about cheating," the girl whispered back, before she walked blissfully to the direction of the ebony-haired tomboy, waving as she did.

"Mi-chan! I'm glad you made it!"

Sera turned to the direction of the greeting, and beamed that cute, blissful grin of hers as she approached the other girl, making Hakuba's stomach do somersaults.

"Akako-chan, you're already here!" the short-haired girl exultantly declared, linking arms with the girl who's been a good friend to her this past half a year.

From behind them, as the two girls make small talk, Kaito threw a half-amused, half-questioning look at the flustered detective. Hakuba noticed this and glared at him to prevent him from making any remarks.

"Not one word, Kuroba."

"Oh, this is wonderful!" Akako exclaimed in fake glee, letting go of Sera, moving towards the other two guests and pushing both boys towards the female detective. "Guess who decided to drop by Blue Parrot tonight."

"Kuroba-kun!" Sera exclaimed and, turning to the blonde, her cheeks noticeably went pink.

"Saguru-chan… h-hey," said she, trying her hardest to act natural.

"M-Masumi-san. It's… nice to see you again!" Hakuba stuttered.

From the sidelines, Kaito blinked at a loss. Apparently no one informed him when exactly tantei-chan and hebo-tantei started addressing each other on first-name basis.

"You're looking well," Sera complimented, more for making the awkward atmosphere lighter than actually complimenting Hakuba for something.

"And you're… as pretty as always," the blonde replied, to which the amateur sleuth couldn't help but blush.

"Aww shucks, I'm not," said Sera, one hand moving to rub the back of her neck before pulling a playful punch to the other's arm. "I'm just… the same old me."

To the awkward laughter that followed the girl's statement, Hakuba couldn't help but laugh along. Just… how come everything Sera Masumi does look really cute? Is she doing it on purpose? Or does she just not realize how cute she is? Everything she does gives him that warm, fuzzy feeling—the kind that makes you think nothing in the world is wrong—not too different from hot cocoa with marshmallows on a snowy winter night.

And once again, for about the hundredth time since he realized he's starting to like this wonderful creature before him, he's plagued by the same riddle—a riddle so complex that'll put Koizumi-san's (heck, even Kaitou Kid's) riddles to shame: does he find her cute because he likes her, or does he like her because he finds her cute?

Hakuba's hand automatically moved without him meaning to, and it mirrored the girl's actions, much to Akako and Kaito's amusement. Snickers from the watching party brought the blonde detective back to where he stood. A simple side glance reminded him of the bet he lost, and once again, a wild blush decorated his features.

Wasting not another second, the nervous Hakuba looked Sera in the eye as he uttered, "L-look, there's… something I want to tell you…"

And just like that, the stage was set for Hakuba-tantei's confession.

Kaito giggled excitedly and sang, taking his seat up front and center, and practically tearing a bag of chips open, "Ooooh, this is going to be _disaaaastrous_!~"

* * *

 **A/N:** Aaaaand yeah... to be continued. LOL. I'm all about cliff-hangers lately, and I'm beginning to wonder if anyone out there wants me hanged too. *awkward laughter* Hopefully not.

Oh, also, about the random mouse thing... I've always had this headcanon where Hakuba's secretly afraid of mice.

Also, Ducky Momo is not mine XD but Piyo-chan is something I made up.


End file.
